Hall of Fame
Quarterback
Fourth Leading Punter in the Nation, 1949
All-Coast, 1949
East West Shrine Game, 1952
USF Career Years: 1949-1951
Birthdate: October 26, 1928
Hometown: San Luis Obispo, CA
High School: San Luis Obispo High School
Charles "Ed" Brown was born on October 26, 1928, in North Carolina and attended San Luis Obispo High School, where he played football. He attended Hartnell Junior College in Salinas and was nicknamed “Bullseye” for his passing accuracy as a freshman quarterback on their football team. He was 6’ 2” and 200 lbs., threw right-handed, and completed 22 touchdown passes his freshman year with them. Brown was an All-Junior College All-American with Matson and Toler, who were at San Francisco City College. When he transferred to USF in 1949, Kuharich was hesitant to add him to the starting lineup, but in his sophomore season with the Dons, he completed 18 passes for 423 yards and four touchdowns. He caught seven passes for 129 yards, intercepted eight, and was the leading scorer at 56 points. He was also one of the best blockers on the team. His punting average of 42.7 yards was the fourth best in the nation, and he did all of the point-after-touchdown conversions. As a junior, he completed 59 passes for a total of 1205 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also punted 60 times for an average of 37.1 yards.
Brown was on the “undefeated, untied, and uninvited” team with players Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson, and Bob St. Clair. Ralph Thomas, his teammate, told Sports Illustrated: “He could throw the length of the field. He could stand flat-footed and fire it 70 yards. He’d break your fingers on the short throws.”
Under Head Coach Joe Kuharich, the Dons went undefeated at 9-0 in the 1951 season. With two African-American players on the team, Toler and Ollie Matson, they were not invited to any postseason bowl games. The owner of the Gator Bowl, Sam Wolfson, had made an agreement with the Orange and Sugar Bowls to omit teams with black players. When the Orange Bowl extended an invitation to them, on the condition that the two African-American players be excluded, the team unanimously declined and from then on they were called the “undefeated, untied, and uninvited”. Although the Dons had been denied a bowl berth, the entire team was recognized at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl at long last making an appearance in a bowl game.
Unfortunately, without postseason funding, USF was forced to shut down its football program the following year. Attendance at the Kezar Stadium games had declined 80% since the arrival of the 49ers in 1946. The squad featured nine future NFL players, including Pro Football Hall of Fame members Matson, Marchetti, and St. Clair, and five earned Pro Bowl selections at some point in their career. The team’s Sports Information Director, Pete Rozelle, served as NFL Commissioner for 29 years.
In 1952, Brown was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round (68th pick overall) of the NFL Draft, but was drafted into the United States Marines and spent two years serving with them, and played on the Camp Pendleton football team. In 1954, he joined the Bears as a third-string quarterback, and eventually began starting in 1955. Brown led the team to an 8-4 record and developed a reputation for his ability to throw the ball down the field. That year, he led the team in passing with 1,667 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. After a couple of years of declining performance, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1961 and served as the back-up quarterback. The following year, the starting quarterback had his biggest numbers, completing 168 passes for 1,982 yards, 21 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. The Steelers lost the East Title Game to the Giants in New York by a 33-17 final. In 1964, Brown, his last year as a starter, he threw for 1,990 yards. He was traded late in the season to the Baltimore Colts, and retired from the NFL in 1965.
His 12-year career stats were TD-INT 102-138, 15,600 yards, and a 62.8 QB rating, including a career best of 2,982 yards and 21 touchdowns in 1963 with the Steelers. He was a two-time Pro-Bowl selection while with the Bears. Following his professional football career, he moved to a farm in San Luis Obispo, CA, and ran his own business for 13 years.
